Anyone who’s ever been inside a supermarket or convenience store would be familiar with the brand Evian.
To many, it is synonymous with high-end mineral water as it is marketed as natural spring water that flows from the French Alps.
So imagine everyone’s surprise when they saw a Malaysian hawker use not one, but four bottles of Evian water to make a container’s worth of iced bandung.
Source: Twitter
The sighting sparked an online debate, with some arguing that there are other better-tasting and more affordable brands of mineral water.
Others simply felt it was not worth it to use Evian in a drink that normally only requires cheap ingredients.
On 29 June, Twitter user @faizedzahar shared a video of a Malaysian hawker preparing iced bandung at his stall.
For the uninitiated, iced bandung is a drink popular throughout Southeast Asia that is made out of rose syrup, condensed milk, and water.
In the video, the hawker had four bottles of water labelled Evian laid out on a table.
One by one, he grabbed them to dilute the rose syrup mixture that had already been poured into a large container.
Source: Twitter
The onscreen text showed that the stall is located in Puncak Alam, Selangor.
In the caption accompanying the video, the OP announced to the public that “air balang T20” (drinks in a jar for the rich) is now available.
The video got some Twitter users curious to try the drinks for themselves.
One commenter asked how they can go about finding the stall on Google Maps.
Another user replied that the stall is called Air Setin before sharing that a bag of drinks costs RM10 (S$2.90), which is significantly higher than the average iced bandung in Malaysia.
They went on to mention that the stall also offers a variety of drinks in other flavours like lychee, corn, and durian.
Source: Twitter
Furthermore, those who are keen on setting up a stall of their own can contact a Facebook page called Sukri Sulaiman Production.
The use of Evian water in the typically low-cost iced bandung garnered split reactions from Malaysians.
Some even took to comparing Evian to other brands of mineral water, which they deemed to be on par with the former in terms of taste and quality.
One boldly stated that Evian is the worst-tasting water, followed by Voss, another premium bottled water brand.
However, the person had high praise for Spritzer, a popular mineral water brand from Malaysia.
Another user concurred, saying that Spritzer has more or less the same amount of minerals as Evian and is much more affordable.
Further down the thread, a fellow Twitter user pointed out that Fiji water is “delicious” as well.
Source: Twitter
Meanwhile, this tweeter doubted the authenticity of the Evian water.
They suggested that the hawker may have simply filled up the branded bottles with normal filtered water.
Source: Twitter
Additionally, one pointed out that people usually drink premium water like Evian for good health. Hence, its nutritional value would be wasted once it had been mixed with a sweet base like rose syrup.
They also disagreed with the price point, saying that beverages in a jar like this should cost below RM5 (S$1.45). Even then, it would still be profitable for the vendor.
Source: Twitter
Some took issue with all the negativity and defended the hawker, saying that he was still making a living through legitimate means.
They also said that those who felt his drinks are expensive simply need not patronise his business.
Source: Twitter
What do you think of this bougie new twist on iced bandung, and would you try it? Let us know in the comments.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from Twitter.
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